Coffee and Health: How to Recognize “Good” Science

Is coffee good for you? This question, while seemingly innocuous is something that truly highlights the importance of scientific literacy in society. Within scientific circles, meanings of words are sometimes different in the weight they hold when compared to everyday use. Case in point, “theory” holds a lot of weight...

Print Your Own Australopithecus afarensis

Remember Lucy? No, not the terribly scientifically inaccurate pseudothriller starring everyone’s favorite Scarlet Sohansson. I mean that famous missing puzzle piece bridging the evolutionary gap between hominims and our more ape-like ancestors. Well thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Addis Ababa University have...

Screw Global Warming, We Found Earth 2.0

If you haven’t heard by now, you should know that Guillem Anglada-Escude and his colleagues from multiple centers around the globe have discovered a planet orbiting the star closest to our sun, Proxima Centauri, that seems to be about the size of Earth. They also say that this planet is...

First case of Female to Male transmission of Zika

The CDC released a statement from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the first reported case of female to male transmission of Zika virus. The case was picked up by the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). A non-pregnant female engaged in condom-less vaginal intercourse shortly after...

Meningitis…and Lasers?

Bacterial meningitis can be a life-threatening infection especially in children where it is most common. While not as prevalent as its viral counterpart, it is still a significant source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are a number of organisms that can cause meningitis, and they vary depending on age ....